Debra Basham

Living and Loving

Tag: Animal-Speak

  • Trust the Magic of Beginnings

    And suddenly you know:
    It’s time to start something new and
    trust the magic of beginnings.
    ~ Meister Eckhart

    Today is the first day of 2024.

    Yesterday afternoon I went into a different area on my bike ride. I was only lost between 8.88 miles and 12.22 miles….

    Suddenly I knew I had gotten turned around and did not know which way to go. I stopped and asked directions back to the main road. The man and woman were out in their driveway because they were checking on a Gopher Tortoise that was on their driveway. They were relieved to know it was just sleeping in the sunshine on the warm pavement. It has been somewhat cool here. In fact, it is 49 degrees right now.

    “Is this the direction to Rampart Boulevard?” I asked.

    The man pointed. “At the stop sign, make a right. Your next right will be Rampart,” he assured me.

    I rode in that direction but when I got to the stop sign I knew right where I was, and I was somewhere I did not want to be — on a busy road with no shoulder.

    So many people are right where they do not want to be. Dear Michigan friends here in Florida are very sick with violent intestinal symptoms (either flu or food poisoning); some dharma friends in North Carolina are sick with Covid when he was to be leading a New Years retreat; Stacey and Doug are sick in Tennessee with the respiratory bug that kept Jackson home from daycare all last week.

    Part of the challenge was/is a long canal that ran between where I was and where I wanted to be. One gift in the adventure was my successful riding 15 miles just a few days earlier. It had been many, many years since I rode 15 miles, but yesterday I knew it was possible so I was persistent. Assessing my options at that stop sign, I decided to move ahead I needed to begin by retracting my steps. Even after finding a patch of shade where I could see Google Maps on my phone, I still took a few wrong turns and had to back track several times.

    What a relief when I finally saw a memorable patio heater along the side of the road, left there for trash pickup. I absolutely knew I was back on the road that would take me home!(My phone was only on 7% power when I arrived home.)

    My first hawk sighting here in Punta Gorda was a Red-shouldered Hawk in the neighbor’s yard. Over the next week or so I had several different sightings (one flying with live catch in its talons), a pair sitting side-by-side on the power line right along the sidewalk, a single also sitting facing me on another power line. I was not able to get photos for identification on any of those, but at the exact moment I was enjoying that feeling of relief knowing I was going the right way I saw another hawk. This time I was able to get a fairly decent photo. My beloved Florida birding guide (Hart – such a great name!) identified this one as a Cooper’s Hawk with my photo.


    From Animal Speak, by Ted Andrews:

      Part of the Role for the individual beside whom hawk flies is that of Guardian of the Earth Mother. These are individuals who will possess an astute awareness of the concept of the interconnectedness of all things, and will have an inner reverence for all life.

      These are the souls that are involved in making the world a better place, whether locally or globally. They will be protectors of the Earth Mother and tread softly upon her, encouraging and educating others to do the same.

      Often, they are either found initiating or actively involved in environmental causes, where their keen perception and insight will serve their chosen cause well. Yet it is their day to day existence and fundamental philosophy/foundation of action and belief, that distinguishes these individuals as true champions of Mother Earth as they seek to live in harmony with the ~Ina Maka~ and all that She births, provides, nurtures and sustains.

    The ending of the opening quotation by Meister Eckhart begins with trust. Then it mentions magic. Finding the way home after realizing I was lost took a lot of beginnings.

    And suddenly you know.

    It’s time to start something new.

    “Trust the magic of beginnings” is a great mantra for 2024….

  • Queen Stinky

    For this is wisdom; to live,
    To take what fate, or the Gods, may give.
    ~ Laurence Hope

    Wouldn’t it be great to have the name Hope! Or Faith! Cope is the maiden name of a friend. My own name (Debra) means busy bee in colloquialism, and she who brings the sublime light of the creator in the Egyptian cartouche.

    “We can’t control the events of our lives…” was the next line in the daily reading that opened with the quotation by Laurence Hope.

    This was also the theme of Tuesday’s meditation group with Sheilana Massey, who asked us to reflect on whether we are living our life, or letting our life live us. She asked, “When things are not going our way, are we trying to make it do that?”

    Someone shared a Quaker Saying, “The way will open related to that.”

    I asked, “Do we have to make something wrong in order to learn?”

    A woman mentioned how scientists and mathematicians are now coming to the same conclusions about the world spiritualists have long held.

    I have been dancing with demons expressing as insecurity around lack of formal education, comparing my poetry writing to others, and feeling not good enough. Familiar stories….

    Last evening just about dusk we had a surprise visitor at our bird feeder.

    Reading in Animal-Speak, by Ted Andrews:

    Skunk teaches how to give respect, expect respect, and demand respect.

    It is self-assured and confident in itself.

    If skunk has shown up, it can help you with this particular aspect.

    (p. 312-313)

    Yes, I have been dancing with demons but I have come to value the dancing as exercise — not in futility, but fertility.

    This particular skunk is absolutely gorgeous. I have never seen one so white or so fluffy. My sister, Janis, named this one Queen Stinky. I like that name very much….

  • Frogs and Fairies

    Sacred Stories

    They were out on a walk. She was telling him a story she had heard in a talk about Edgar Cayce’s teachings (Fairies, Angels, and Unseen Forces). Some children were on a walk in the woods and reported seeing a fairy. A couple of the adults were able to see it, too, but not everyone was able to see it. Cayce said this is dictated by the level of consciousness of an individual.

    Just then, they noticed a very large bullfrog (about the size of his fist) sitting on the pavement. They agreed it was such an odd place for the bullfrog to be as they were quite a distance from nearby ponds or lakes.

    He helped the bullfrog to the grass, and they continued their walk.

    Later they read,”Frogs have an ancient mythology about them. Being amphibians with links to the water and the land, they are often associated with the magic of both elements. This also links them to the lore of fairies and elves.” (Ted Andrews Animal-Speak, pg. 356)

    These are sacred stories. Pay attention to happenings in your life. Do you have a story to share? Send email to debra@scs-matters.com.